scholarly journals Deriving Natural Background Levels of Arsenic at the Meso-Scale Using Site-Specific Datasets: An Unorthodox Method

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 452
Author(s):  
Maria Filippini ◽  
Chiara Zanotti ◽  
Tullia Bonomi ◽  
Vito G. Sacchetti ◽  
Alessandro Amorosi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Local Scale ◽  
Shallow Aquifer ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Monitoring Networks ◽  
Natural Background ◽  
Site Specific ◽  
Background Levels ◽  
Polluted Sites ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Meso Scale

Arsenic is found in groundwater above regulatory limits in many countries and its origin is often from natural sources, making the definition of Natural Background Levels (NBLs) crucial. NBL is commonly assessed based on either dedicated small-scale monitoring campaigns or large-scale national/regional groundwater monitoring networks that may not grab local-scale heterogeneities. An alternative method is represented by site-specific monitoring networks in contaminated/polluted sites under remediation. As a main drawback, groundwater quality at these sites is affected by human activities. This paper explores the potential for groundwater data from an assemblage of site-specific datasets of contaminated/polluted sites to define NBLs of arsenic (As) at the meso-scale (order of 1000 km2). Common procedures for the assessment of human influence cannot be applied to this type of dataset due to limited data homogeneity. Thus, an “unorthodox” method is applied involving the definition of a consistent working dataset followed by a statistical identification and critical analysis of the outliers. The study was conducted in a highly anthropized area (Ferrara, N Italy), where As concentrations often exceed national threshold limits in a shallow aquifer. The results show that site-specific datasets, if properly pre-treated, are an effective alternative for the derivation of NBLs when regional monitoring networks fail to catch local-scale variability.

scholarly journals Natural Background Levels of Potentially Toxic Elements in Groundwater from a Former Asbestos Mine in Serpentinite (Balangero, North Italy)

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 735
Author(s):  
Elisa Sacchi ◽  
Massimo Bergamini ◽  
Elisa Lazzari ◽  
Arianna Musacchio ◽  
Jordi-René Mor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Toxic Elements ◽  
Statistical Evaluation ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Potentially Toxic Elements ◽  
Contaminated Site ◽  
Natural Background ◽  
Background Levels ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Real Challenge

The definition of natural background levels (NBLs) for potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in groundwater from mining environments is a real challenge, as anthropogenic activities boost water–rock interactions, further increasing the naturally high concentrations. This study illustrates the procedure followed to derive PTE concentration values that can be adopted as NBLs for the former Balangero asbestos mine, a “Contaminated Site of National Interest”. A full hydrogeochemical characterisation allowed for defining the dominant Mg-HCO3 facies, tending towards the Mg-SO4 facies with increasing mineralisation. PTE concentrations are high, and often exceed the groundwater quality thresholds for Cr VI, Ni, Mn and Fe (5, 20, 50 and 200 µg/L, respectively). The Italian guidelines for NBL assessment recommend using the median as a representative concentration for each monitoring station. However, this involves discarding half of the measurements and in particular the higher concentrations, thus resulting in too conservative estimates. Using instead all the available measurements and the recommended statistical evaluation, the derived NBLs were: Cr = 39.3, Cr VI = 38.1, Ni = 84, Mn = 71.36, Fe = 58.4, Zn = 232.2 µg/L. These values are compared to literature data from similar hydrogeochemical settings, to support the conclusion on their natural origin. Results highlight the need for a partial rethink of the guidelines for the assessment of NBLs in naturally enriched environmental settings.

scholarly journals How to manage potential groundwater contaminations by As, Fe and Mn in lower Po Plain: a proposal from the case study of Cremona

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Rotiroti ◽  
Letizia Fumagalli ◽  
Tullia Bonomi
Keyword(s):  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
Contaminated Site ◽  
Anthropogenic Influences ◽  
Natural Background ◽  
Po Plain ◽  
Administrative Procedure ◽  
Background Levels ◽  
Fe And Mn ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Definition Of

The Legislative Decree 152/06 on environmental regulations also governs polluted site remediation (Part IV). A potentially contaminated site is defined when concentrations exceed the limits reported in the Attachment 5 (Title V). Nevertheless, the Legislative Decree 152/06 considers the possibility of higher limits than Attachment 5 for trace elements in the case of natural high contents by the definition of natural background levels. The lower Po Plain is characterized by high natural concentrations of As, Fe and Mn in groundwater and, at the same time, is one of the most important areas for the Italian productive system, and thus, possible direct sources of As, Fe and Mn or indirect anthropogenic influences could also exist. Therefore, an operative tool is required to determine the natural background levels and to understand if measured high concentrations are attributable to natural backgrounds or to anthropogenic sources/influences, and consequently, to decide on the beginning of the administrative procedure requested by the Legislative Decree 152/09 through the site characterization phase. This work presents a proposal of procedure to manage potentially contaminated site by As, Fe and Mn in the lower Po Plain, that was developed in the framework of a scientific collaboration between the Province of Cremona and the University of Milano-Bicocca. The procedure involves the following four steps, preceded by the derivation of natural background levels as step zero: (1) comparing new measurements to natural background levels; (2) testing the presence of direct anthropogenic sources of As, Fe and Mn; (3) excluding false positives and (4) testing the presence of indirect anthropogenic influences on As, Fe and Mn concentrations. The operative application of the proposed procedure is actually under consideration by the Province of Cremona.

Detecting Small-Scale Variability of Trace Elements in a Shallow Aquifer

2015 ◽  
Vol 226 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice M. S. Giambastiani ◽  
Nicolò Colombani ◽  
Micòl Mastrocicco
Keyword(s):  
Trace Elements ◽  
Shallow Aquifer ◽  
Small Scale

scholarly journals Measurement of the 36Cl deposition flux in central Japan: natural background levels and seasonal variability

2012 ◽  
Vol 106 ◽  
pp. 73-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuki Tosaki ◽  
Norio Tase ◽  
Kimikazu Sasa ◽  
Tsutomu Takahashi ◽  
Yasuo Nagashima
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Variability ◽  
Deposition Flux ◽  
Natural Background ◽  
Central Japan ◽  
Background Levels

scholarly journals The definition of an atmospheric database for Aeolus

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. J. Marseille ◽  
K. Houchi ◽  
J. de Kloe ◽  
A. Stoffelen
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Sampling Strategy ◽  
Laser Wavelength ◽  
Geographic Region ◽  
Atmospheric Dynamics ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Horizontal Line ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract. The definition of an atmospheric database is an important component of simulation studies in preparation of future earth observing remote sensing satellites. The Aeolus mission, formerly denoted Atmospheric Dynamics Mission (ADM) or ADM-Aeolus, is scheduled for launch end of 2013 and aims at measuring profiles of single horizontal line-of-sight (HLOS) wind components from the surface up to about 32 km with a global coverage. The vertical profile resolution is limited but may be changed during in-orbit operation. This provides the opportunity of a targeted sampling strategy, e.g., as a function of geographic region. Optimization of the vertical (and horizontal) sampling strategy requires a characterization of the atmosphere optical and dynamical properties, more in particular the distribution of atmospheric particles and their correlation with the atmospheric dynamics. The Aeolus atmospheric database combines meteorological data from the ECMWF model with atmosphere optical properties data from CALIPSO. An inverse algorithm to retrieve high-resolution particle backscatter from the CALIPSO level-1 attenuated backscatter product is presented. Global weather models tend to underestimate atmospheric wind variability. A procedure is described to ensure compatibility of the characteristics of the database winds with those from high-resolution radiosondes. The result is a high-resolution database of zonal, meridional and vertical wind, temperature, specific humidity and particle and molecular backscatter and extinction at 355 nm laser wavelength. This allows the simulation of small-scale atmospheric processes within the Aeolus observation sampling volume and their impact on the quality of the retrieved HLOS wind profiles. The database extends over four months covering all seasons. This allows a statistical evaluation of the mission components under investigation. The database is currently used for the development of the Aeolus wind processing, the definition of wind calibration strategies and the optimization of the Aeolus sampling strategy.

Developing a functional definition of small-scale fisheries in support of marine capture fisheries management in Indonesia

Marine Policy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 100 ◽  
pp. 238-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Halim ◽  
Budy Wiryawan ◽  
Neil R. Loneragan ◽  
Adrian Hordyk ◽  
M. Fedi A. Sondita ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fisheries Management ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Scale Fisheries ◽  
Definition Of

Natural background levels and threshold values for groundwater in fluvial Pleistocene and Tertiary marine aquifers in Flanders, Belgium

2008 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 1155-1168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marleen Coetsiers ◽  
Petra Blaser ◽  
Kristine Martens ◽  
Kristine Walraevens
Keyword(s):  
Threshold Values ◽  
Natural Background ◽  
Background Levels

scholarly journals Systematic Review on Food Safety and Supply Chain Risk Assessment Post Pandemic: Malaysian Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Saad Nurul Eiman ◽  
Firdaus Muhammad Nurul Azmi Aida ◽  
Trias Mahmudiono ◽  
Siva Raseetha
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Supply Chain Risk ◽  
Food Supply Chain ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
The Impact

The novel coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, is a recent disease that has struck the entire world. This review is conducted to study the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to food safety as well as the food supply chain. The pandemic has caused various changes around the world as numerous countries and governments have implemented lockdowns and restrictions to help curb the rising cases due to COVID-19. However, these restrictions have impacted many aspects of everyday life, including the economic sectors such as the food industry. An overview of the current COVID-19 situation in Malaysia was discussed in this review along with its implication on food safety and food supply chain. This is followed by a discussion on the definition of food safety, the impact of the pandemic to food safety, as well as the steps to be taken to ensure food safety. Hygiene of food handlers, complete vaccination requirement, kitchen sanitation and strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) should be in place to ensure the safety of food products, either in food industries or small scale business. Additionally, the aspect of the food supply chain was also discussed, including the definition of the food supply chain and the impact of COVID-19 to the food supply chain. Travel restriction and lack of manpower had impacted the usual operation and production activities. Lack of customers and financial difficulties to sustain business operational costs had even resulted in business closure. As a conclusion, this article provides insight into crucial factors that need to be considered to effectively contain COVID-19 cases and highlights the precaution methods to be taken through continuous monitoring and implementation by Malaysian government.

scholarly journals Geographical and logistical factors of sustainable development of rural tourism in the context of regional economy

2016 ◽  
pp. 9-14
Author(s):  
I. Smyrnov
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Regional Economy ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Rural Tourism ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
Tourist Flows ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact

Rural tourism is now seen as an important direction of development of the regional economy. From the perspective of sustainable development rural tourism affects the economic, social and environmental aspects of the regional and local economy. Rural tourism is closely linked with agrotourism, eco-tourism, natural tourism and so on. Sustainable rural tourism can be realized by applying logistic, geographic and marketing approaches as components of sustainable development strategies. Logistics approach is determined by logistic potential of resource base of rural tourism and appropriate tourist flows regulation. In this context in the article the concept of tourism capacity or capacity of the resource base of rural tourism is used. The problem of the definition of tourism pressure on the resource base of rural tourism, particularly in natural landscapes is disclosed. Unlike environmental and recrealogical sciences, which stop at the capacity definition of the resource base of tourism, tourism logistics compares this figure with the existing tourist flows and accordingly determines the safe way of tourism management to ensure its sustainable nature. It was shown that these strategies boil down to two basic types – the further development of tourism in a particular area or limit such activities to conserve the resource base of tourism. Recreational (travel) load is the indicator that reflects the impact of tourism on the resource base of tourism (especially landscape complex), expressed by the number of tourists or tourists-days per area unit or per tourist site for the certain period of time (day, month, season year). There are actual, allowable (the maximum) and destructive (dangerous) types of travel load. The latter can lead recreational area or resource base of rural tourism to destruction. Thus, depending on the intensity of tourism resource base using in rural tourism it may change – according to tourist consumption. Large number of tourists affects the entire range of recreational destinations and their individual components. The most vulnerable part of the environment in this sense is vegetation, except that significant changes may occur with soil, water bodies, air and so on. The geographic dimension of the problem of rural tourism sustainable development includes the concept of zoning, ie the division of the territory, offering to develop rural tourism in several zones with different modes of travel usage – from a total ban (in protected areas) for complete freedom with transitional stages, involving various limit degrees in the development of rural tourism. Marketing approach reflects the application of the curve R. Butler to the stages of development of rural tourism destinations with the release of such steps as: research, involvement, development, consolidation, stagnation (also called “saturation”), revival or decline. Shown the models that link the stage of resource base tourist development (under “Curve Butler”), strength of tourism consumption the magnitude of such effects (eg weak (disperse) impact in large scale, strong (concentrated) impact in large scale, strong (concentrated) impact in small scale, weak (disperse) impact in small scale), dynamics of tourism development at the territory.

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